Courtesy Boston Globe

(May 21, 2010) The feeling in this space was that WEEI’s “The Big Show’’ lost a piece of its bond with listeners when Pete Sheppard, who played the everyman role to varying degrees of appeal but always seemed to genuinely enjoy talking about sports, was let go in January.

Now, it is actually a former professional athlete who has picked up the slack as the Glenn Ordway cohost who connects best with listeners when it comes to being an unabashed fan.

Lou Merloni, a favorite son of Framingham and former Red Sox utility infielder, has demonstrated versatility in his role, which was expanded last July when he chose to remain at the station rather than accepting an offer from 98.5 The Sports Hub to be Michael Felger’s cohost.

Merloni, who also contributes frequently to Comcast SportsNet New England, works roughly four full days per week between the outlets. He has clearly found his niche in the Boston sports media market, not so much because of his local-boy, ex-jock status, but because it’s apparent that he watches the games for enjoyment rather than obligation. It’s probably a more novel concept than it should be.

“I think that has to do with just being local, having grown up here, and having had the same experiences as the callers or viewers as a fan,’’ said Merloni. “Because I’m from Boston, it’s not just about baseball to me. It’s Patriots, Bruins, Celtics.

“I grew up with that, and a lot of fans see and hear that and know I understand where they’re coming from, I think. I hope it comes through.’’

With the possible exception of Ryen Russillo (now thriving at ESPN), Merloni comes up more than any other person when the topic is which local sports pundit is the most well-prepared. Merloni, who credits Ordway and Comcast SportsNet New England managing editor Morry Levine for advising him when he began considering a media career, says that comes in part from his approach during his playing days.

“When I played, I was a big video guy, always watching my at-bats and hitting,’’ said Merloni. “I didn’t mind evaluating and looking at my faults. That’s the only way you’re going to get better.

“When I started out on TV, I would DVR pretty much whenever I was on. I would go back see how I looked at the camera, the way I spoke, some of the things I would say, making sure the first word out of my mouth wasn’t always the same.’’

Merloni has no preference between television and radio.

“TV is more challenging because everything is programmed with what needs to be done,’’ he said. “With radio, you just go with it. Whatever the flow is with the callers. But the radio part of it is challenging, too, at times, just sort of realizing the animal that you’re dealing with on the phones, to be perfectly honest with you.

“It’s funny, I worked with [Joe Haggerty] the last couple of times on WEEI, and people have been calling to tell him what a great job he did. I said, ‘Yeah, enjoy it while you can. After about a year, I got people telling me they’re sick and tired of me talking about how I know everything,’ ’’ he said, laughing.

“Hey, but that’s how it is around here, and that’s part of being a Boston fan. No one knows that better than me.’’

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